My Melody no Akazukin

My Melody no Akazukin is a 1989 animation produced as part of the first Sanrio Anime Festival anthology film. The story follows My Melody, who takes on the persona of Akazukin (the Japanese name for Red Riding Hood) as part of her family's play, an adaption of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale.

Synopsis
A young girl named Akazukin makes her way through the forest to visit her sick Grandma, running into a wolf who is intent on eating her along the way.

Full Plot Summary
In the frame narrative shared between all Sanrio Anime Festival anthologies, My Melody appears alongside Tuxedosam and Chip to introduce the audience to her family's play, the audience gives applause and the story begins.

Akazukin is at home baking cookies with Mother, until they are interrupted by Hunter knocking on their door, accompanied by his dog. Akazukin's mother offers him cookies but he declines, explaining that he came to warn them about a travelling wolf who is said to go from village to village, sneaking up on children and eating them. This warning scares Akazukin and her mother, but Hunter reassures them by letting them know he's headed out to find the wolf. After this, Akazukin remembers that she wants to go visit Grandma. Mother is hesitant to let Akazukin go but ultimately allows it, sending her off with some cookies to deliver.

Wolf is drinking from a nearby lake, where he hears the Hunter singing and quickly hides in the bushes, having a fright when Hunter happens to point his gun into the same bush Wolf hid himself in. After Hunter moves on, Wolf settles down by a cave and his stomach rumbles with hunger. Hearing Akazukin's singing, Wolf jumps for joy and rushes to introduce himself to her. Oblivious, Akazukin takes Wolf's word for it when he says he's friendly, while he fantasises about the different ways he can eat her. Wolf tries to lunge himself at Akazukin, but she unknowingly avoids him by walking off.

Wolf makes a few more attempts to get Akazukin, all of which backfire, until he gets to idea to rush off to Grandma's house while Akazukin is distracted picking flowers. Arriving first, Wolf makes his way into Grandma's home and eats her. Knowing Akazukin is making her way to the house, Wolf disguises himself as Grandma and hides himself in bed while he waits for her to arrive. When Akazukin arrives, Wolf invites her into the bed, Akazukin is suspicious however, questioning the size of who she believes to be Grandma's ears, eyes and hands. Unfortunately it's too late, and Wolf reveals himself, before eating Akazukin.

Fortunately, Hunter visits Grandma's house soon after, and sees Wolf sleeping on her bed with a full stomach. Hunter cuts Wolf open to retrieve Akazukin and Grandma. Grandma has an idea for payback however, setting out with Akazukin to gather stones while Hunter keeps an eye on Wolf. Upon returning, the stones are poured into Wolf's stomach and it is sewn back shut. Wolf wakes up with Hunter's gun in his mouth, and runs away screaming, struggling with the stones inside him.

With the play over, Wolf joins My Melody and reveals that he is ok, and that the stomach full of stones was just a part of a costume. Wolf remarks that he's hungry, glancing at Tuxedosam and Chip, who run away scared. My Melody then says goodbye to the audience as the screen fades to black.

Cast

 * Rei Sakuma as My Melody/Akazukin
 * Ryusei Nakao as Wolf
 * Yukiko Nashiwa as Mother
 * Youko Ogai as Grandmother
 * Junpei Takiguchi as Hunter
 * Kiyoyuki Yanada as Dog
 * Natsumi Sakuma as the narrator

Release and Availability
The film premiered on July 22, 1989 between the other segments Hello Kitty no Cinderella and Kiki to Lala no Aoi Tori. My Melody no Akazukin was later released individually on VHS on June 21, 1992.

On February 4, 2014 My Melody no Akazukin released alongside Kiki to Lala no Aoi Tori on DVD with a new HD remaster. This version was also made available on Amazon Prime Video in Japan.

Soundtrack
A CD with the complete Sanrio Anime Festival anthology's soundtrack was released on August 21, 1989, containing 25 tracks.

Trivia

 * This is Rei Sakuma's first time voicing My Melody, she would later go on to become the main voice of the character.
 * This is one of the rare depictions of My Melody to show the character with fingers.
 * Much like in the play, My Melody's original name was Akazukin
 * However, in the play it is mentioned that Akazukin was a name she was given after receiving her red hood the year prior.